On Wednesday I had the great privilege of Chairing the judging panel for the Air Ambulance Awards of Excellence 2013. On the panel alongside me was Bill Sivewright, Chairman of the Air Ambulance Association, Peter Norton, CEO British helicopter Association, Mark Docherty, NHS Commissioner, Tracy Hughes of the RNLI, and Steve Parry who acted as the Independent Secretary to the judging panel. I do this in my capacity as Chair of the All Party support group for Air Ambulances in the House of Commons. We did a lot of per reading and judging before our panel met in the Commons. I had to cut short my input due to parliamentary commitments, but the team did well in my absence and had my choices as well.
There were a number of outstanding applications for a variety of awards ranging from Outstanding Young Person, Charity Staff Member of the Year, Paramedic, Doctor and Pilot of the Year, Campaign of the Year, Special Incident and the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The panel had a number of very difficult decisions to make but, after much thought and consideration, a shortlist was agreed upon. The awards will be presented at an Awards dinner on Monday 18th November in Central London where all the finalists and winners will be recognised for their outstanding work and dedication to the Air AmbulanceAssociation. I am doing everything possible to be present and presenting at the dinner.
